08/27/2025
makes sense. Trauma in any form is not kind to the brain.
🧠Study shows children exposed to family conflict have brain changes similar to combat veterans.
It literally rewires the child's fear system the same way war does to soldiers.
Children exposed to family violence display the same brain activity patterns as soldiers who’ve experienced combat, according to groundbreaking research from University College London and the Anna Freud Centre.
In the first study of its kind using functional MRI scans, scientists found that maltreated children showed heightened activity in the amygdala and anterior insula—regions linked to detecting threats—when shown angry faces.
These same brain regions light up in combat veterans, suggesting that repeated exposure to violence, even in the home, may rewire the brain’s emotional systems for hyper-vigilance.
While this adaptation may help children detect danger in the short term, it also activates brain circuits associated with anxiety disorders, increasing the risk of long-term mental health issues. Notably, the children studied were not currently diagnosed with any psychiatric conditions, underscoring that brain changes can occur beneath the surface. Researchers hope the findings will prompt earlier interventions and spark the development of treatments that help reverse these effects—or better yet, prevent them. As Professor Peter Fonagy noted, the study should energize efforts to protect children from violence and its lasting imprint on the brain.
Source: McCrory, E., et al. (2011). Maltreated children show same pattern of brain activity as combat soldiers. Current Biology.
